Oktoberfest: Part 2

Oktoberfest Part 1: In which we are in the beer tent

Oktoberfest Part 2: In which we are out of the beer tent

So after some beer and some sausages and another beer and some traditional music, it is time to venture forth and experience the rest of Oktoberfest.

Many people are wearing "tracht", that is, traditional Bavarian costumes. Lederhosen for the men and Dirndl's for the women...but some women wear lederhosen too, and also there are various combinations of things.

I would say half of the crowd was wearing tracht...

I loved the little kids in their lederhosen!

I suspect these horses were in the parade...

On to the rides!

Standard swings...

Same swings...but really high up!

After being a little dizzy from the swings...I skipped this one...

The hubby had gotten an iPhone application that was all about Oktoberfest...what beer tents were open, what the ratings were about, and also what rides there were. We came across a "ride" called "Teufelsrad" (Devil's Ride) that has been around for 100 years, but was rated a "not to be missed." We had to check it out!

There is a spinning circle that people sit on, and the object is to stay on as long as possible. The announcer will call out a group people (Men:18 and older, or girls: 9-13, or little kids) and then people matching the description will run out on to the wheel. The wheel starts spinning and then some people on the outside of the group go flying off into the padded wall. Faster and faster the wheel spins until there is a small group left. Then the giant padded ball on a rope comes and tries to knock people over (or just knock into them, it is hilarious). If that doesn't work, then there are two guys with lassos that try to get the rope under people to try to catch them and pull them off. The audience can stand and watch for as long as they want. It never got old!

Oh no, here comes the ball!

Usually it would end up with one person at the end who the guys were trying to get off the wheel. It is amazing how people can get those ropes off them, duck the ball and still not fly off the wheel. One kid even got on the ball, the guy raised him up, and then put him back on the wheel!

You want to be in the middle of a pack like this, or you will fly off immediately!

We bribed the girls into doing it...unfortunately they didn't move fast and got on the outside of the group and fell off fairly early. I told them I would go on if they did...I was also on the outside of my group but at least made it to the part where the ball started swinging...but managed to avoid getting smacked in the head.

I thought they were pretty cruel to the little kids...They had them wave bye bye with their left hand, then wave bye bye with their right hand, and then they started the wheel up fast and half of them went flying off! And they would still bop the little kids with the giant ball!

The adolescent boys were quite funny...all other groups were sort of every person for themselves...if you can stay on, great! With the boys it became all about pushing the other guys off!

We had a 5:15pm train back and it didn't seem like we had enough time! We didn't go on very many rides (which is good in a sense because they cost 4-6 Euros per person per ride).

Until next year!

Oktoberfest: Part 1

Wikipedia tells us:

"Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September (and running to early October.) It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an important part of Bavarian culture.

The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich, on October 18, 1810: For the commemoration of their marriage, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (namesake of the Theresienwiese festival grounds) organized a great horse race.
In the year 1812, the Oktoberfest was cancelled since Bavaria was involved in the Napoleonic war. In 1816, carnival booths appeared. The main prizes were silver, porcelain, and jewellery. In 1819, the founding citizens of Munich assumed responsibility over festival management. It was agreed that the Oktoberfest would be celebrated each and every year without exception. Later, it was lengthened and the date pushed forward, the reason being that the end of September in Bavaria often has very good weather. The high temperature in the first week of Oktoberfest nears 19°C which stimulates the thirst of the visitors. However, today the last week of Oktoberfest is still in October.

To honour the marriage of King Ludwig I and Therese of Bavaria, a parade took place for the first time in 1835. Since 1850, this has become a yearly event and an important component of the Oktoberfest. 8,000 people — mostly from Bavaria — in traditional costumes walk from Maximilian Street, through the centre of Munich, to the Oktoberfest. The march is led by the Münchner Kindl."

Oktoberfest has continued every year with the exceptions of war years. I guess next year will be the 200th anniversary! Wow, we better get train tickets early.

In planning our excursion, we decided Sunday would be a good day...not as many people as a Saturday and there is a parade. We were thinking about going to the parade but the weather forecast at the time shows 30% chance of rain. We decided to skip the parade but try to get into a beer tent instead...while everyone else is watching the parade! To get there early, we decided to take the 8:02am train to Munich (about an hour on the ICE (InterCity Express Train) which goes up to 250km/h (at least on the Nuremberg-Munich run).

Oktoberfest seems to have two parts: Inside the beer tents and Outside the Beer tents. One wants to get inside the beer tents as some point as that is an integral part of the experience. However, many tables are reserved, so one has to strategize to get one of the non-reserve tables. There are 14 beer tents (as permanent as they look, they are only up for Oktoberfest).

The largest "tents" hold up to 8500 inside and 3600 outside. The tent below holds almost 6000 people inside.

This tent holds almost 7,000 inside.

We however went into the Hippodrome, which holds about 3200 inside. Wikipedia says: "One of the smaller tents, it's the first tent that many visitors see at the fest. As well as serving normal Wiesn beer, it has a Sekt (sparkling wine) bar and Maß of Weißbier. Considered one of the trendiest tents, and attracts the occasional celebrity. Traditionally in the evening the Oktoberfest band the Münchner Zwietracht plays all the Oktoberfestclassics."

We got to the "Weisn" (the Oktoberfest area) about 9:30am, and the Hippodrom didn't open until about 10:10am. The hubby got in line while I took the girls around looking at Souveniers and such.

Naturally they have beer steins for sale...

and many beer related hats...

...even teddy bears!..

...And of course the ubiquitous Lebkuchen Hearts...decorated gingerbread hearts attached to a string...You might buy these for your sweetheart.

(

The Hippodrom workers were diligently trying to get people to sit in the beer garden outside (where they could start buying beers) instead of standing in line (where you can't), but we held firm. So we finally get in and it is about 10:30am or so...a bit early for beer!

We decided to try a "Auszog'ne" pastry as well as a tried and true Apple Strudel.

"Auszog'ne" are "Round fried pastries with an edge and a thin skin. They are round, have a diameter of between 12 and 15 cm and an edge about 3 cm high and wide and are wafer-thin in the middle. The colour of the Auszogne ranges from golden brown at the edge to light in the middle. With their soft edge and their crispy middle, Auszogne have a delicate sweet and greasy flavour.Auszogne are often eaten spread with jam or sprinkled with sugar to accompany coffee. The tradition of baking Auszogne for festivals has been maintained in rural Bavarian regions to this day. "

I think there must be a difference between "crispy middle" and "seems like really stale bread"...but a little vanilla sauce stolen from the apple strudel makes anything edible!

After a while we decided it was late enough for beer and we had some while the band started to play. Here are the beer mugs waiting to be filled:

The Münchner Zwietracht band playing traditional songs...



The Table next to us looks on at the band...

Prost! (Cheers!)

Signs of confusion

Those Pictogram signs are supposed to be understood by people of all nations because they use pictures, not words, right?

This sign was outside a church in Munich.

No Smoking, check. No Ice Cream (food), natch. Keep those cell phones off and out of respect don't wear hats. No problem.

But what about that fourth picture?

1) No pants?

2) Keep your hands out of your pockets?

3) Don't be doing anything naughty with your hands in your pockets?

München and Neuschwanstein (Part 1)

The in-laws were here so we thought we would go on a more ambitious excursion. Our plan was to drive to München (Munich), stay over night there, and then drive down to the castle Neuschwanstein. We would then drive up the "Romantic Road" and stop in a town along the way for a meal and then end up in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, known for its well-preserved medieval old town. We didn't end up in Rothenburg, but we managed the rest of the itinerary.

The hubby was working in Munich on Thursday, so I got to do the driving. All the other times I have been to Munich there was some snoozing going on on my part, but not this time! My experience on the Autobahn is this:

There are three lanes on this Autobahn.

The right lane consists of trucks going about 100kmh.

If there is not too much traffic, one stays in the right lane and passes the trucks on occasion.

Unlike the U.S., where you might typically hang out in a lane, in Germany you really are expected to get to the right as much as you can.

Unfortunately there was more traffic.

So I would be in the middle lane, trying to go about 120kmh (~72mph). Then one of the trucks would decide that the truck in front of it is going too slow, so it would jump out and pass. But it is only going 105kmh to go around that 100kmh truck...which means....surprise! A truck in front of you. Then you need to make a decision...what is coming faster? That mercedes in the left lane going 140+kmh or the truck in front of you going 105kmh. Aaauugh! Keep that up for about 2 hours.

But we get to see giant wind turbines and lovely farms where we imagine they are growing hops?

Our first stop in Munich was the Viktualienmarkt (Victual Market, i.e., permanent outdoor farmer market) that was not too far from Marienplatz (Tourist central of Munich). See my post on Marienplatz for more on Marienplatz.

There are some permanent Metzgerei (Butchers) shops as you enter the Viktualienmarkt.

There are Produce stands and Cheese stands and Wine stands of all sorts. We nibbled our way through the market.

Wierd sorts of fruits...

...and of course, seasonal items such as SPARGEL (white asparagus) and strawberries. More on Spargel in another post! (German's love them some spargel).

We also found a great second hand clothing store, Kleidermarkt, where I got a OctoberfestyGermanyish leather jacket and the girls found a few things.

We had dinner at a Thai place called Yum Thai Kitchen and Bar, which the hubby had been to before. Thai food in Germany? Yes, because we have been having alot of German food all week!

Next Post...Neuschwanstein!

Glockenspiel of Munich

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel of Munich is located in Marienplatz and was part of the second construction phase of the New Town Hall, dating from 1908. Marienplatz (Mary's Square) is a central square in the city center of Munich, Germany since 1158.
(click on pictures to get a close up)

Close up of the Clock.

The Rathaus (Town Hall)

Every day at 11 a.m. (as well as 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. in summer) it chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of mass crowds of tourists and locals. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures,

The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lothringen. In honor of the happy couple there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white). The Bavarian knight wins every time of course.

The bottom half tells the story of the Schäfflerstanz (the coopers' dance). In the 16th century a particularly bad period of the plague hit town and everyone went into hiding. The first people to dare go back onto the streets were barrel makers who performed a big dance to show that it was okay to come out again.

This small model of the center of Munich was found nearby.